INVESTIGATIONS PERTAINING TO TEXAS BEEKEEPING. 25 
November: Larve of the second generation. 
Pupe of the second generation. 
Larve of the third generation. 
December: Same stages as during November. 
January: Same stages as during November. 
February: Same stages as during November. 
March: Pupe. 
NATURAL ENEMIES. 
Of the natural enemies of the bee-moth, the most important is the 
honey-bee itself. It is a well-established fact that if the colony be kept 
strong, healthy and with a vigorous queen, it will defend itself against 
the bee-moth. This is particularly true in the case of “Italian” bees. 
“In the Ohio Cultivator for 1849, page 185, Micajah T. Johnson says+ 
‘One thing is certain: if the bees, from any cause, should lose their 
queen, and not have the means in their power of raising another, the 
miller and the worms soon take possession. I believe no hive is destroyed 
by worms while an efficient queen remains in it.’ This seems to be the 
earliest published notice of this important fact by an American ob- 
server.”* 
This fact is of vital importance in the fight against the bee-moth, for 
if the pest can be kept from its favorite food, control measures are made 
much easier. The fact that the bees under natural conditions are able 
to defend themselves should leave the problem of control to such means 
as will destrov the pest in places other than the hives. Recently it has 
been found advantageous to introduce Italian blood into the colony, as 
the workers of this race seem to be more efficient fighters of the bee-moth. 
In most cases this is sufficient for the control of the pest in the colonies, 
but it must be remembered that the colony cannot be kept under close 
observation and maintained at full strength unless domiciled in a frame 
hive. 
A smal] red ant, Solenopsis sp.,+ has been found to be an enemy of 
the bee-moth, as many of our cage experiments were destroyed by this 
ant killing the moths and larve. The attack is made on the moths during 
the day or when they are at rest. Usually the ants crawl under the wings 
of the moth and begin the attack upon the abdomen. There is no ap- 
parent struggle on the part of the moth, for close examination is neces- 
sary to determine that the moth is dead and not resting. The abdomen 
seems to be all that is desired, and this is carried away in small pieces 
to the nest of the ants. This same species of ant also destroyed moths 
which had recently been prepared for exhibits. At such times only the 
abdomen was taken by the ants. In their attacks on the larve the ants 
entered the cages and crawled over the comb and wax in search of their 
prey and if any larvee were expesed they were attacked. The larger larve 
are more frequently attacked, as they are less active and usually feed in 
more exposed places than do the smaller ones. Unless the larve were well 
protected by webs in the refuse, they were destroyed by the ants. Appar- 
*Langstroth on the Hive and Honey Bee, by Chas. Dadant, p. 469. 
Determined by Mr. Wilmon Newell. 
